Nabil Al Busaidi

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Nabil Al Busaidi (born 23 January 1970 in London, England) is an Omani adventurer. Al Busaidi is considered to be the first Arab[1] to walk to the magnetic North Pole, climb Mount Vinson in Antarctica,[2] and row across the Atlantic Ocean.[3]

He was voted one of the Top 100 Most Influential Arabs in the World by Arabian Business magazine in 2009,[4] The Top 50 Influential Arabs by Middle East magazine in 2009 and 2011, and remains in the Top 500 Power List in 2011 for Arabian Business magazine.[5]

A documentary[6] about his trek to the magnetic North Pole was directed and edited by two-time Emmy Award winning director David Ward.[7]

Early life and education

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Al Busaidi was born in 1970 in London, England, and split his time between England and Bahrain. He studied at the University of Bath earning a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Mathematics (1993) and Masters in Management (1997). He is a Project Management Professional (PMP) and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS). In 1998, he moved back to the Middle East, residing in Oman and Bahrain.

Career

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Professionally, Nabs worked at a number of institutions such as Gulf International Bank (Bahrain), KPMG (Oman), Mizuho Bank (Bahrain), and Gulf Air (Bahrain) before becoming a full-time adventurer.

An avid sports enthusiast, Nabs was awarded university colours for soccer and American football at Bath University. He is a Royal Life Saving Society UK Bronze award holder and a PADI advanced open water scuba diver. In Bahrain, he played for Bahrain RFC, an amateur rugby team,[8] during their 1997–2005 seasons and as a lifelong fan Liverpool F.C. he set up a Bahrain Liverpool FC Fan Club on Facebook.[9][non-primary source needed]

Nabs published a coffee table book entitled The Arab who Took on the Arctic – From Sand to Snow[10] in 2011 and is registered with the London Speakers Bureau as a motivational speaker.[11]

Adventurer

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In April 2009, he became the first Arab to walk the 650 km from Resolute Bay to the magnetic North Pole and one of less than 500 ever to walk to a pole. Later in the same year, he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa at 5,895m and one of the seven summits.[12] In January 2010, Nabs climbed Mount Vinson (4,897m), the highest mountain in Antarctica, also one of the seven summits.[13] He became[when?] the first Arab to row over 4,600 km across the Atlantic, albeit in a team comprising 14 members, one of only 250 crews to achieve this feat and breaking the record for being the largest crew ever to complete the trip.[citation needed]

Current activities

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Inspired by a boarding school[14] friend Major Phil Packer,[15] who raised more than one million pounds for charity,[16] Nabs is working on a tour of 100 schools throughout the GCC. He is hoping to raise US$1 million for local charities.

References

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  1. ^ "Nabil Al Busaidi, first Arab who walked to the magnetic North Pole, visits Stenden University Qatar". www.iloveqatar.net. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Nabil Al-Busaidi's Antarctic expedition diary – Features". Arabian Business. ArabianBusiness.com. 17 January 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  3. ^ "OCEAN ROWERS by COUNTRY". Oceanrowing.com. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  4. ^ ""Nabs" becomes first Arab to reach the North Pole – Sport". Arabian Business. ArabianBusiness.com. May 2009. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  5. ^ "Prince Alwaleed the world's most powerful Arab – Culture & Society". Arabian Business. ArabianBusiness.com. 19 December 2009. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  6. ^ "'THE ARAB WHO TOOK ON THE ARCTIC' – Trailer on Vimeo". 30 June 2009. Retrieved 5 November 2013 – via Vimeo.
  7. ^ "David Ward Films Awards". Davidwardfilms.co.uk. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  8. ^ "IIS7". Bahrainrfc.com. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  9. ^ "Facebook". Facebook. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  10. ^ "Nabs Al Busaidi interview – The Knowledge Features". Time Out Dubai. TimeOutDubai.com. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  11. ^ "India Speaker Bureau | Speaker agency, Leadership speakers, Business speakers". Londonspeakerbureau.in. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  12. ^ "Nabil Al Busaidi | The Arab Adventurer – Mount Kilimanjaro". The Arab Adventurer. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  13. ^ "Nabil Al Busaidi | The Arab Adventurer – Mount Vinson, Antarctica". The Arab Adventurer. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  14. ^ "Eltham College". Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  15. ^ "Welcome to the official Phil Packer website". Philpacker.com. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  16. ^ "The Pride of Britain Awards – Major Phil Packer". Prideofbritain.com. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2013.